Pharma Reform

This story is making it around the newswires and industry blogs. This may not have even been a story if Stanford had not taken such a hard stand previously about the pharmaceutical industry financial influence. You can go to the Stanford website for their release. http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2010/january/cme.html

I couldn’t resist commenting myself;  so here is what I have posted on some sites:

Unrestricted grants are not a new concept. I’m not sure how, or if, this is different. While Stanford control and lack of Pfizer input on specific content may be the implied distinction being proposed here, that has been the intent and practice of many unrestricted pharmaceutical industry grant supported programs including many ACCME programs in the past. Without more transparency about the negotiations that took place surrounding this grant, it is hard to understand how identifying “programs of mutual interest” with “milestone” payments hasn’t already or isn’t going to influence what topics are going to be covered in these Pfizer sponsored Stanford programs.

It appears that Pfizer merely found the price point at which Stanford was willing to compromise its previously stated position (Stanford Report dated September 13, 2006 “New Policy Limits Drug Industry Access”) that “industry-directed funding may compromise the integrity of these education programs”. The $3 million seems to have also moderated Dr. Pizzo’s concern about “the pervasive presence of the pharmaceutical industry in the medical profession” and his desire for Stanford educational activities to “not be influenced by any kind of financial industry support.”

A couple of things must have happened. Either Stanford could not find sufficient alternative sources of funding for their continuing medical education department and/or the $3 million was just too hard to turn down.

I guess everything still has a price; you just have to figure out what it is. This relationship based on a $3.0 million grant does not help move CME forward for the industry, academia or healthcare providers. It provides validation for those who continue to be concerned about financial influences of the industry. Pfizer merely proved that even Stanford can’t resist…when the price is right.
mike@pharmareform.com